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destiny

“Failure is not the problem. The problem is low aim.” — Dr. Benjamin Mays

Yes, I believe that Mary was a virgin through-out her life. This belief was central in early church doctrine, continued (though somewhat skewed) in Roman Catholicism, and was unchallenged by the first wave of church reformers. It wasn’t until the more radical reformed churches came into being that the perpetual virginity of Mary was questioned and rejected. Many make this error based on the scripture that Jesus had brothers and sisters with His mother waiting to speak to Him even though in that culture one’s cousins were also counted as siblings. Others are misled by the text where Joseph did not know (as in carnal knowledge) Mary until she bore her son and named him Jesus. This is a translation problem for in the same Gospel, Jesus declares He will be with us until the end of the age. By that logic, after the end of the age, Jesus will no longer be with us. Also, if Jesus did have blood siblings as we define them by our western standard, why is it that he left the care of His mother to a disciple rather than one of the children she supposedly gave birth to?

O Virgin Pure

Perhaps the most disturbing and failed excuse for rejecting Mary as ever virgin is that “she was still human.” Yes, I believe and the Church teaches that Mary was fully human. But, is it wise to believe that the natural state of humanity is to wallow in desires of the flesh, or to pursue purity and unity with God? If we aim for the best standard of physical pleasure, sex in heterosexual marriage, we aim for what God has ordained under the Old Covenant, which is good. As humans, we have a chronic tendency to fall short of our goals. Pursuing pleasure often distracts us from our goals. In fact, we tend to excuse personal fulfillment of pleasure as a greater good (“all is fair in love and war”). Combine aiming for the lesser goal with our tendency to fall short of our goals and the distraction of pleasure and you have a recipe for a society doomed for sexual failure. It is like a darts thrower who never aims for the bull’s eye. If there is no central point that he seeks, he will barely reach the inner circle where there is great value. Instead, his darts will land on various parts of the board (at best) and may even stray far away from the board and hit by-standers causing injury.

But, let a society pursue the purity of an ever virgin Mary. There is an unusual purity to aim for; to be human and offer one’s sexuality as a sacrifice as a celibate. It was through the Virgin that the Savior was born and He was also celibate as he was fully human as well. Mary becomes the bull’s-eye the dart thrower aims for. With a central target, the thrower will still not make his goal all of the time. But, he can hit the safe and valuable inner circle of holy matrimony. A darts-man who hits this circle with regularity is as admired as the one who hits the bull’s-eye. Novices at darts that constantly strive for the bull’s-eye will improve from hitting the wall, to hitting the outer areas of the board, to hitting either the highest targets of monasticism or matrimony. And this may be the root of why our modern society is engulfed in sexual immorality; rejecting the ever virginity of the fully human Mother of God has taken away the spiritual bull’s-eye that we should strive for in our sexuality. We don’t see that supreme holiness can be born in us and in one another. If we cannot see this possibility, then it is difficult to see ourselves and one another as much beyond potential sex partners. We dehumanize each other in the worst ways. Men are seen as lovable but brutal. Women, especially in modern pornography, are treated in ways that if they really were dogs, the PETA would break every law in the world to protect them. Even outside of porn, our mothers, wives, sisters, and daughters are too frequently thought of, referred to, and treated as less than the icon made by God that they are as we men are.

This is not to say that those of us who hold Mary to be Ever Virgin are perfect in obtaining sexual purity. We are probably as bad as, and in some cases worse than anyone else. But, holding her as one who abstained from sex even after giving birth gives us an example to aim for. And if one constantly aims for the bulls-eye, the result will be to the better.

Well, it is here … sort of. I am taking the midnight bus from Richmond. So, I am giving something of a prelude as to what in the world I am stepping into and why am I going in a direction so radically different than the western Christianity I was born in raised into.

I have to thank God for the way I was raised and the church that brought me up. I still remember my grandmother telling bedtime stories to my brother and I. My parents were devout in raising Jason and I in the love of Jesus Christ. We went to church diligently. Even when we were away from our beloved Baptist Liberty Baptist Church in King William, we went somewhere. Had it not been for the Baptist Church, I would have never known and grown in God’s grace and mercy. My life would have been a bus accident without it. So, I praise God for all who have played a role in my Christian journey.

But, I feel there is something deeper that we are missing out on in the black Baptist (or any ethnic Protestant tradition). Not to sound like a broken record. But, it amazes me how little we know of our contribution to the early Christian faith. It’s like … an African carried the cross for Jesus at his crucifixion, there was a Negro with Paul in Antioch, Philip baptized an Ethiopian, and then came Richard Allen and the establishment of the AME Church. From the time of the apostles to Colonial America, it is as if there was no black presence in Christianity and no need to learn about them.

Talking with Bishop Thomas of the Antiochian Church, we were too busy with our struggle against segregation to learn that there was still a church in Antioch. It wasn’t until 1987 that some 2,000 American Evangelicals came into the Diocese. With the work of Father Moses Berry and the Brotherhood of St. Moses the Black, African-Americans are discovering what Greeks, Russians, Serbs, and the like have known all along. Africans were among the great men and women that established the Orthodox faith. The Egyptian Coptic and Ethiopian Churches still exist. That missing gap between Simeon called Niger and Absalom Jones is there for us to learn about. Now that we live in an age where we can have a black man in the White House and another as the head of the opposition party, the door is open for us to learn about, tap into, and even convert to this ancient and active version of Christianity called the Orthodox Church.

I guess I like taking risk, or whatever. But, black people (and small town whites as well) aren’t going to hear the message of Orthodoxy unless someone of their own kind is willing to take the plunge and tell others of what a marvelous gift it is. So, here I am. I hadn’t even packed yet. I missed those really good Greyhound discounts. Yet, I know my wife will be well taken care of. No, I don’t expect, nor can I afford, to convert to Orthodoxy when I get back home. I don’t expect to do so next year. But, the path is before me.

I am back in the pulpit this morning. I thank God for my friends, Rev. Randolph Graham and Rev. Keith Lewis, who preached in my place and for my college buddy Dr. Wayne Weathers, for his stirring Homecoming message. We were blessed to have the word of God delivered by Dr. Vincent Smith, Dr. Reginald Davis, Min. Marlene Fuller, and Pastor Willie Barnes for our revival services.

Again, I am most grateful to Fr. David Arnold and the St. Cyprian of Carthage Orthodox Church (OCA) and Fr. James Purdie and the St. Basil the Great (Antiochian) Orthodox Church for the wonderful Divine Liturgy, hospitality, and friendship. Had I not known Christ or had been a nominal Christian, I would have asked to be a catechumen. But, I must remain where I am until the Lord calls me to do otherwise (besides, gas cost too much for me to drive all the way out to Powhatan or Poquoson).

Yes, we had a great revival at Trinity Baptist Church. Now that we have been revived, let us follow Jesus more closely!

A blessed feast of the Transfiguration to all. Too bad we Baptist haven’t made a deliberate observance of this feast. It seems like a great reason to have a fish fry. As much as we love our croakers, spot, and trout (with a crab cake or two on the side); this ought to be the third biggest holiday in Virginia east of I-95. Yes, I know there is something more important to the feast than the food. Which brings me to my two-cents of thinking today.

In the 16th chapter of Mathew, we find Peter pulling Jesus to the side and rebuking him about the foretelling of his trial, death, and resurrection. The idea that the Christ, the Son of the Living God should have to suffer and die at the hands of his enemies seemed foolish. The disciple, perhaps, thought his heaven-sent Master should continue to be earthly healer, teacher, and prophet that everyone had come to adore. Maybe this fisherman thought that the One who called him to be a fisher of men should be that political Messiah that would restore Israel to the glories of David and Solomon. Either way, Peter had his eyes on a lesser glory. Jesus, the meek and mild, proved to be highly intolerant of anyone who wanted to reduce him down to an earthly purpose. “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” (I guess the baby in the manger grew up)

Rather than leave Peter with such a hard rebuke, Jesus showed him and Zebedee’s boys what greater glory looked like. “His face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as the light.” No earthly royal regalia could match it. “And behold Moses and Elijah appeared to them talking with him.” Talk about a royal court of greatness. Poor Peter thought that honoring them with earthly tabernacles would be a sufficient means of honoring these three in this glory. But, before he could finish his sentence, God the Father provided something greater. “Behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I and well pleased. Hear Him!” (Pete, who was that you were trying to correct?). As Peter, James, and John cowered in fear, Jesus touched and gave them a word of comfort, “Do not be afraid.” And they saw him alone back in the form they were accustomed to.

I think we sometimes forget that Jesus was not sent here to be known as a social “do-gooder” nor political “values-bearer.” He came to save the souls of all who would believe in him. Of course we want to improve our communities and practice moral behavior. But, when we reduce the Gospel, the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior to earthly pursuits, we become an affront to Jesus. When He called Peter, “Satan,” it wasn’t because the disciple had a homosexual marriage with a Skinhead inside trader. Peter tried to re-direct Jesus from his ultimate greater glory. Today, we commemorate the manifestation of the greater glory of Christ our Lord and that His kingdom is of a law and prophetic spirit that is above the shelters of man’s creation.

We forget the lesson of the Transfiguration when we weld the Christian faith to either side of the political spectrum. Fr. Seraphim Rose was criticized for his letter stating his case against the popular social struggles for a better world in the 1960’s. He was no supporter of war, racism, and other evils many Christians struggled against. But, he wisely saw that if the faithful were not careful, they would take their eyes off of the greater glory of our Lord and let the Left hijack Christianity to a crusade to “make the world a better place.” A similar thing is happening today from the Right. We should not support gay marriage, pornography, and other moral ills. But, in our crusade for family values, we are ignoring our own inward struggles of working out our salvation as we busy ourselves pointing out the failures of others.

Conservative or liberal? Though we are free to choose between these two sides of the coin of earthly authority (one-sided coins have no value and are physically impossible), we are not allowed to weld our faith in Jesus to either side. The Transfiguration is a glimpse of the greater glorious kingdom we can be a part of through our Lord and Savior. Entry into the kingdom and inviting others to join us, this must be our central goal. My other goal is to fix stuffed flounder in a bag for dinner.

Our nation mourns the awful loss of life in Colorado. Gun control and gun rights advocates have been arguing since the first news report. I fear that instead of us becoming serious about prayer as a result of the tragedy, we will pay more attention to the arguing sides and deepen the divide in the nation.

I want to thank Sub-Deacon Paul Abernathy for bringing up this text in one of his talks at the Ancient Christianity Afro-American Conference. If this guy were a Baptist, he would be a pastor somewhere. Well educated, articulate, young; yeah, this brother would be a star among preaching circuits and revival services. But, a sub-deacon? Perhaps we should learn from such humility.

LET JESUS IN YOUR HOUSE

Matthew 8:14-15

(antithesis) Why should we let Jesus into our house when the Centurion in Matt. 8:5-13 didn’t?

(thesis) As following disciples, rather than passer-by strangers, we should seek the Lord’s presence in our innermost selves.

(relevant question) What are the advantages of such a presence in our lives?

(points)

Christ blesses the goodness that we already have (Peter’s mother in law in his home v. 14)

Christ sees and ministers to our relatively insignificant ailments (she had a fever and he touched her hand v.14, 15)

Touched by Christ, we are empowered to serve others whomever they are (she served them v.15)

(conclusion) Don’t settle for a great passing faith. Build your life in the presence of Jesus Christ.

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth and be turned aside to fables.

There is one good thing about losing electric power for a day. You can always read a book that you never found time for. I purchased a copy of The Life of St. Anthony the Greatby St. Athanasius the Great weeks ago and put in with my other icons in the living room. I took it with me to Charlottesville thinking that it was going to be 100 degrees Saturday and I could, at least, thumb through a few more pages. Thanks to Friday night’s storm, my eyes were opened. St. Anthony was a Holy Spirit driven sage whose teachings of monasticism is still influential on Orthodox and Catholic Christians. The author, St. Athanasius was also a giant of the faith as he is credited for compiling the 27 books of the New Testament and forming the Nicene Creed. These and other men and women bore some of the worst persecution under the Romans and led the way in establishing the Christian faith under the reign of Constantine. Writings by Irenaeus, Basil, John Chrysostom, and others are still in existence and can be purchased online or some very good indie bookstores.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of Christian books sold today are not deeply rooted in early church teachings. Most of them are more “positive thinking,” ego-building fluff than the teachings of Jesus and the apostles. Look at the covers of their paperbacks and hard back covers. There is the author with the perfect hair, smile, and make-up. There is the author with a pose and facial expression that, supposedly, shows wisdom and confidence. The scriptures they use, frequently, are curious mish-mashes of verses taken out of their biblical context to support their marketable points of view. Except for a few Catholic writers, there are few (if any) quotes from the saints who were of the same, or a few generations after Jesus and the apostles. The sole purpose of such books is to make a maximum profit by selling a cheap and shoddy version of the Gospel.

I am not saying there are no modern Christian writers worth reading. Norman Gottwald’s The Hebrew Bibleis my favorite text-book from seminary. I would put Howard Thurman’s spiritual writings beside those of any Orthodox ascetic. I had the pleasure of visiting a pastoral care class taught by Wayne Oates at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary many years ago. While some of my favorite non-Orthodox books are very scholarly and technical, most can be well understood by the average layperson. Because the authors aren’t (and never were) TV personalities, don’t expect to find their books at Wal-Mart or Costco. If you are fortunate enough to live near, or visit a college town, go to the independent and used bookstores (you will save money). Online sources are great too. Major-chain booksellers may special order stuff on request.

As you choose Christian (or other religious books in general), please be discerning. Submit yourself to a disciplined life of prayer and reading the scriptures before you purchase anything by anybody. Keep a prayer journal where you honestly deal with your thoughts and feelings about your walk with God. Books recommended by your pastor and trusted friends in the faith can be a very good source. But, be rooted and honest in the pursuit of spirit and truth so that you don’t waste money, time, intelligence, and your soul on religious sounding fluff and bad doctrine.

And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.

Acts 2:42

A blessed Feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist. If you haven’t read it, please refer back to my first post on this topic. Faith Alone gives us freedom from the legalistic Judaism that the Apostles had to preach against and from the Catholic abuses of the Dark Ages in Europe. But, with freedom comes responsibility. If we are irresponsible with our freedom of faith, we will be enslaved by our passions, complacency, and even our virtues. Let us be responsible with our faith in Christ Jesus so that we may grow in spirit and in truth.

(Introduction) The purpose of Faith Alone was to counter the Medieval Catholic sale of indulgences requiring people to give “X” amount of contributions to particular causes or do other questionable acts for the sake of salvation. It was a doctrine of freedom from abusive priest, bishops, and other hierarchical clergy.

(Antithesis) We too often use Faith Alone as an excuse from participating in actions and doctrines handed down through the scriptures and early church to help us build and strengthen our faith. Our typical excuse is, “The Lord Knows My Heart.”

Then David took his staff in his hand, and chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook. He put them in a shepherd’s bag to store away, and in his hand was his sling. He then approached the Philistine.

One of the great pitfalls of preaching is that we want to sound like someone else who is very popular. In my recent e-mail exchanges with Archbishop Puhalo, I am reminded of lessons learned from the AME Bishop Adam Richardson about Prophetic Sermon Preparation. I am called to preach with my own voice, the one God gave me. I have always admired the wisdom and sermonic pace of Gardner C. Taylor. Other than him and perhaps one or two other “old school” preachers, I don’t try to follow anyone’s style. Even with those giants of the pulpit, I am well aware of my limitations. I lack all of their education. I have tried from time to time, but, I cannot “whoop” (the expressive pattern of repetition and tone usually found in African-American preaching). So, I tend to study the text that I am going to preach from for a couple of days, create an outline similar to the one described in my last post, and proceed to write a manuscript.

Call and Response worship is a hallmark of the Black American Church. We preachers expect to hear some “Amens” during the sermon. The problem is when we focus too much getting a response from the congregation and not enough on the content of our messages. We wind up preaching stuff that is only meant to draw responses, or bury our good messages with an overabundance of response begging, especially toward the end of the sermon. I confess, I like to hear some responses as much as the next preacher. But, my task is to declare the Gospel without stroking the needs of my ego.

On Good Friday, seven ministers of the Pamunkey Baptist Association gave seven minute sermons on the seven final words of our Lord as he was being crucified. My contribution to the service went over well enough. It was brief (even shorter than my allotted time), insightful, and did get a response though not the loudest nor most enthusiastic. But, this was a service and not a competition. If I simply apply myself to crafting a good message under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, I need not concern myself with time limits nor responses. The advice I got from my former campus minister, Rev. Adrian Arnold, will be my guide for the pulpit, “Always be genuine in your faith.”

A 10 minute sermon? This is proof that the center of Orthodox worship is not on the preached word. There is simply no way I can get away with a 10 minute sermon. I had better not preach much more than 20 minutes. But, we Baptist are expected to give an introduction, antithesis, thesis, relevant question, 3 points that support the thesis, and a conclusion. Don’t get me wrong. I agree with what the Vladyka said. I just find this form of preaching strange. I will keep watching and learning.

As a Baptist who has decided to journey toward Orthodox Christianity, I expected that I would say something to draw criticism from one side or the other. I thought one of my colleagues would be the first to question my icons or wonder if I started “praying to Mary instead of Jesus.” Nope, instead I have been “taken to the woodshed” by archbishop Lazar Puhalo of the Canadian Orthodox Monastery of All Saints of North America.

In my comments on his sermon, I meant no criticism of his content. I am certainly not ready to debate the man on theology. I didn’t say that the length of his message was too short in the context of Orthodox Worship. I said, perhaps in too many words, that a ten-minute sermon is not the norm for the Baptist Church. He disagreed with my observation that “the center of Orthodox Worship is not on the preached word” (the Eucharist is the center, even he said that), and gave a stern repost to my comment, “I found this form of preaching strange.”

Not true. The entire Liurgy preaches the Gospel. As with the Ancient Church, the centre of Orthodox Worship is the Eucharest. Only for the Gnostics was this not the case. I have seen & been Sectarian neo-Gnostic (Protestant) self-worship services. The consist in screaming, howling preachers who have to crack jokes, howl like dogs at the moon, torch singers, rock bands, feel-good-about-yourself empty, meaningless songs and self-congratulatory outbursts. All is emotion, self-centred and vain.

Do you really consider rock bands, the cheapening of the name of Christ Jesus, torch singers, tap dancers, joke-cracking preachers, howling, thereatening, leaping and dancing across the state slapping the bible up and down, prowling the stage cursing people and a purly Gnostic message could be considered “preaching the word” or “worshipping?” Would Christ stop at your concession stand in the lobby for soda and pop-corn before going into a multi-million dollar business centre called a “church?”

I am more than aware of the abuses of worship in the modern Christian worship and seek to avoid them like the plague. And I confess to being a little humorous and very loud in the pulpit. I am not ready to debate the Archbishop on theology as he is far more knowledgable and wise than myself. But, I will defend the pattern of sermon construction that has been handed down to me from years of Baptist preaching.

I have been taught to give an introduction as a way to lead people into the message. The antithesis brings the congregation into the particular problem that is common in our daily lives. The thesis is the answer to the problem based on the scripture that is read. A relevant question inquires that the preacher can properly apply the scripture to the problem (like in algebra where one has to show the whole equation and not just write down the correct answer). The preacher then gives his points (usually three) with scriptures in the same context as the given text. All is summarized in the conclusion that proclaims the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

Can Archbishop Puhalo or someone else tell me what is wrong with this form of preaching? Sure, I have heard many ministers use text out of context, stray away from the thesis, focus more on a celebratory conclusion rather than other elements of the message, and other abuses. I admit guilt to not writing and preaching the best constructed sermons. But when followed correctly, listeners (who pay attention) leave worship with a clear understanding of the text and how to apply the Gospel to daily living. Other than the theological differences between the Baptist and Orthodox, this form of preaching is a good thing.

And let me leave today risking more wrath. Orthodox Christians who want to call us Protestants fake, frauds, Gnostics, and other things (one You Tube commentator calls us “transvestites”); you need to go out and evangelize. In my 45 years on this earth, I have had plenty of Jehovah’s Witnesses approach me, Mormons visit my home, Black Muslims sell me newspapers and bean pies. I have yet to have an Orthodox Christian approach me. I have had to take the time and look things up online for myself. If any religion or denomination has the truth, it is the church that was founded in A.D. 33. But, the only time most of us hear about this church is when a Greek festival is going on. Plenty of people who were brought up in Protestant churches are leaving or aren’t that dedicated to the faith. There is a rich harvest for you to pick from. Black Americans will especially appreciate the fact that Africans were among the founders of Orthodoxy. If God is not pleased with our heterodox beliefs, shame on us. But, if we are remaining heterodox because we have never heard the Gospel coming from you Orthodox, you share in our shame.

I thank God that I was raised and serve as a Baptist. I am equally grateful that I have found the rich history, heritage, and spirituality of Orthodoxy (and have applied for membership in St. Philip’s Prayer Discipline).